Silent Hill: The Search for Ami
by Yoshiko Kyoda
Summary: 3 years have passed since Sailor Moon's fight against Galaxia and everything is back to normal. Ami is studying abroad with Urawa in Silent Hill when both of them go missing. Makoto goes to the town to find Ami, not knowing what lies before her...
1. The Secrets Lie in the Mist

Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill or Sailor Moon!

I suggest reading this story while listening to Silent Hill music so you can get really into it .

"…" Speech

'…' Thought

_Italics_ Flashback

Silent Hill: The Search for Ami

Chapter One: The Secrets Lie in the Mist

Emerald green eyes examined the reflection of a pale teenage girl with chestnut brown hair through a grimy mirror in the neglected public restroom. The girl leaned away from the mirror and sighed, casting her gaze about the muddy floors and rusted sinks. It must have been years since the restroom was cleaned at all.

Scrunching up her nose at the foul stench coming from one of the stalls, she sighed again…

'Where are you, Ami? If anything's happened to you, I'd…'

Closing her eyes to shut out the rest of the world and the foul bathroom, Makoto Kino recalled what had happened before she left her other friends, Usagi Tsukino, Rei Hino, and Minako Aino…

_"Ami's missing?" Makoto gasped in disbelief._

_"Yes, she was studying abroad with a professor and Urawa when all three of them went missing in Silent Hill." Rei explained calmly._

_"Where is Silent Hill?" The brunette asked curiously._

_"We don't know exactly…" Minako replied solemnly._

_"Poor Ami-chan…" Usagi sobbed miserably and Rei put a comforting hand on Usagi's knee. _

_"The police are telling everyone to stay away from Silent Hill because of the incident. But it all sounds really fishy to me because I've heard there have been previous disappearing incidents in Silent Hill." Minako mused._

_"And what do Luna and Artemis have to say about this?" Makoto continued interrogating the other senshi._

_"They want us to lay low until we get more information about all of this." The raven-haired priestess confirmed._

_Getting to her feet, Makoto started heading towards the door. "I can't just wait around when Ami might need me! That's not good enough! I'm going to find Ami!"_

_"No!" Usagi jumped up and grabbed the brunette's arm with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please, Mako-chan… I don't want something to happen to you, too!"_

_"Usagi…" Makoto trailed off gently._

_"It's not a good idea to just rush into Silent Hill anyway, even if we knew where it was." Minako pointed out sadly._

_"I'll find it." Makoto narrowed her emerald eyes in determination as she said this._

_"Don't let your personal feelings blind your actions." Rei shook her head gravely. "Makoto, we want to find Ami just as much as you do but we don't know anything about Silent Hill. We don't want to create unnecessary risks."_

_The brunette looked down at her feet sadly. "But Ami…"_

_"Promise me you won't go, Mako-chan." Usagi begged while choking on her tears._

After a few minutes of reluctant silence, Makoto nodded. "I promise…" 

Opening up her eyes to take in her reflection once more, Makoto left the cruddy bathroom and stepped outside into the fog.

'I'm sorry Usagi… but I have to break your promise!'

Outside of the public restroom was a parking lot that was almost completely deserted except for a couple of abandoned cars and Makoto's emerald green jeep.

It had taken a lot of hard effort to track down where Silent Hill was, but finally she had found the town that was just down the hill… where hopefully Ami waited.

The brunette walked hesitantly over to the edge of the parking lot where a concrete wall overlooked a sheer drop above the city off in the distance. It was a rather gloomy scene with the quiet town being so dark and gray next to the still, murky lake past the forest. A gentle breeze blew through her hair and a few wispy strands of chestnut brown drifted into her face before being brushed back into place. Then she turned away from the view of Silent Hill and made her way towards the stone staircase that led down a rural path into the city.

The main road had been blocked off for years, so now the only way in was through the forest. But it wasn't like she'd turn down a hike through the woods anyway.

Her tennis shoes slapped against the worn concrete beneath her and she carefully walked down the stairs.

'Could something evil is behind this? I thought there would be no more fighting after Galaxia was defeated…' Makoto mused and pulled out her transformation pen from the depths of her jean pocket. 'I need to be ready to transform at any moment, just in case.'

A chill ran down Makoto's spine as she proceeded down the hill on a dirt path into a mist that consumed the forest, and there was an air of loneliness drifting through the trees. The only sound that could be heard was the wind howling in sorrow but other than that, the silence pressed down on Makoto's ears while she strained to hear anything from a snapping twig to the chirp of a bird.

At one point, the mist hid the ground below her and she stumbled on a large rock before stepping on a twig and the sound of the twig snapping echoed for what seemed like miles. The slow, but careful, descent down the hillside inched by slowly while the opaque fog hid what was ahead in the path.

'This is the type of fog where you expect something to jump out at you…' Makoto shivered.

In the distance there was a low rumbling sound that reminded her of the crack of thunder when a storm was approaching.

'If only it weren't for this damn fog!'

Cautiously stepping through the mist until she reached the even ground at the bottom of the incline, Mako found herself straining every sense to proficiently hear or see around her.

When the fog thinned out a little—or at least just enough to see more than ten feet, she noticed an old well on the right and in front of her on the dirt path stood a black gate with dead vines clinging to it. Pushing her hand against it hesitantly, the black iron creaked and groaned loudly before admitting her into the gray scenery of an overgrown graveyard.

'A search has to start somewhere.' Makoto reminded herself with newfound determination and she steadily walked past each tombstone, pausing briefly to look upon the names of the dead before continuing on.

A movement caught Mako's attention, making her grip tighten on her transformation pen. "Who's there!" She demanded frantically and skimmed all of the grave markers again before she caught the sight of the top of someone's head and… blue hair.

"Ami!" The brunette rushed over to where she thought she saw her friend but instead of Ami, it was a young woman with turquoise hair and deep-sea blue eyes. "Michiru…?"

Not answering Makoto, Michiru stood from her crouched position and looked Makoto dead in the eyes with her keen gaze. "You should go back while you can."

When Makoto didn't budge, her old ally took a step closer to the brunette. "Makoto… there is something wrong with this town."

"What's wrong with it?" Makoto questioned in a quiet curiosity.

Michiru's eyes flitted around the graveyard before resting on the tombstone she had been crouching next to. "Things…"

"What things?"

"Why are you here?" Michiru demanded, completely overlooking Makoto's question.

"Ami disappeared here… I've come to find her." The brunette hoped that Michiru would understand and help her out, knowing that Ami was a very valuable teammate to all of the sailor senshi… and especially to Makoto.

"You should leave now before you see something you'll regret forever." Michiru warned in an icy tone, which was so unlike the Michiru that Makoto was acquainted with. "And even if you ignore my warning, you shouldn't go into Silent Hill alone…the mist plays tricks on your mind." She added with a slight smirk.

"If Silent Hill is so dangerous then I have to find Ami as soon as I can. But if you won't help me find her, then I guess I'll just have to go in alone." Makoto whispered, brushing past Michiru to get to the path that led through the graveyard and all the way into the town, leaving Michiru standing alone amongst the many graves.

"I warned you, Makoto…" Michiru mumbled sadly.

TO BE CONTINUED 

First chapter up and I hope it was a good one! I'm really bad when it comes to describing things and making them scary… or even just suspenseful! Anyway, review and tell me what you thought!


	2. Follow the Path of Blood

**Chapter Two: Follow the Path of Blood**

Michiru was then left behind lingering alone in the dreary graveyard like a miserable ghost.

Despite the uneasy feeling nagging her at the back of her mind, Makoto weaved her way through the overgrown grave markers until she reached the other side of the cemetery where the grave keeper's house stood long after it had been abandoned.

Three years since the fight with Galaxia had passed without a word from the Outer Senshi. Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto returned to normal lives, refusing contact with the other senshi. 'Why didn't they stay in touch..? The way Michiru acted so cold and distant… could something have happened?' Makoto wondered, giving the graveyard one last look before she pushed her way through a second black steel gate leading her down a dirt path, which then widened into a road. As Mako headed down the path through the fog that swirled around her, footsteps echoed behind the brunette tauntingly in the fog that hid the source of the sound from view.

The brunette halted suddenly and spun around to listen intently as the footsteps continued for a few more seconds before ceasing. But in the thick fog there was nothing that could be seen. Not even a silhouette.

The minutes ticked by slowly as the wind howled through the mist and nothing else made a sound. When the footsteps did not continue, she started walking down the road again hesitantly.

Abandoned trucks and vans sat on the side of the road next to worn down wooden fences and piles of lumber. Gradually the dirt road changed to pavement and on the right side of the road was a sheer drop to a concrete ledge below. The guardrails were missing in certain areas and the only clue to their existence at all was the brownish rust left over from where they had been.

But all throughout Makoto's journey into the city, the footsteps did not follow her. Even so, she did not dare loosen her grip on the transformation pen still residing in her jean pocket.

Makoto passed through a long tunnel-like building until she came to a large wire fence, which groaned loudly when opened and echoed throughout the darkness of the structure. Her shoes crunched on the old newspapers that littered the floor, the noise intensified by the silence around her.

Goosebumps began to creep across her skin as she looked around; feeling like some ominous presence was watching her from the shadows of the tunnel. Seeing the end of the tunnel and the city streets only brought the brunette a little bit of relief. The fog was still so dense that the tops of the buildings of Silent Hill were very faint outlines against the gray sky. Shops that lined the streets had broken and boarded up windows as well as torn down signs here and there. It wasn't until she heard a crunch under her feet that she directed her attention from the city streets to the ground she was walking on. There, lying worn and slightly muddy—but still legible, was a map of Silent Hill.

'I'll probably need this since I have no clue as to where I am. But where should I start looking?' Tracing her finger along the path she had just come from, Makoto then examined the map to try and think of a place where Ami might be… Her emerald eyes looked over the different streets and buildings before resting on Rose Water Park. Something at the back of her mind told her that was where she should go, despite all logic.

Having made her decision, she started to follow the road that would lead her to the park. The brunette didn't even make it past the first street sign before she saw a figure walking away from her like an injured animal down the street.

'Could that be…?'

Breaking into a run, Makoto plowed through the mist until she reached the next street corner where the pavement had been smeared with blood.

"What the hell?" Makoto exclaimed and skidded to a halt to examine the blood.

The smeared trail of blood led off to the right… however it wasn't the sight of the blood that made Makoto feel sick. It was how the blood had been smeared on the ground. As if someone had been dragged across the ground while being forced into the pavement. Nevertheless, Mako turned down onto the street where the blood was leading; exploring the cold alley for the injured person she had seen. Her search led her past another large fence into a construction site. The equipment sat around unused for what seemed like several years and loud static was emitting from an almost completely boarded up alcove.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Makoto peeked into the dark alcove and hesitantly stepped inside where the static noise was now roaring. Off to the side was a battered looking radio that was the source of the white noise. Picking it up, she examined it and adjusted the antenna to see if she could get a radio signal. But that was when she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and knew that she wasn't alone…

Crouching down by the corpse of a man with his innards forcibly ripped out onto the ground was a demon with no visible arms. It's darkened and rotting flesh gleamed in the light that managed to come into the recess. The demon's head had eye sockets with no perceptible eyes and a face where the features melted together to become a smooth, haunting surface. The creature took notice of Makoto and slowly rose to its full height, making the brunette take a step back in fear. Yanking her green transformation pen out of her jeans pocket, she exclaimed: "Jupiter Crystal Power Make-Up!"

… But nothing happened.

The monster slowly backed Makoto against the boards she had climbed through and it leaned back slightly, spitting out a toxic mist that made her head throb and stumble in confusion. Slightly drained from its attack, she landed a hard kick in the monster's mid-section. Unaffected by her blow, the demon moved closer again and sprayed the gas once more. Falling to her knees and scrambling away, Makoto started feeling so light-headed that she might faint. The demon had it's back to her and was looking around for her stupidly. Instinctively, Makoto stood up again and reached for a plank with rusting nails on the end sticking out of the boards covering the alcove. Ripping it off of the other boards, Makoto swung it with all of her strength at the monster's head and after three powerful blows the monster dropped to the ground, surrounded by a pool of it's own blood.

Nauseated and ears ringing from the sudden silence, Makoto slumped onto the ground, panting. 'Is it dead…? What the hell was that thing…?' That's when she remembered her green transformation pen, which had fallen from her grasp in the confusion. 'Why didn't I transform…?'

For a long time there was complete silence while she rested and the effects of the gas started to wear off.

When her head finally stopped spinning and she could think straight again, Makoto put her transformation pen back in her pocket and picked up the fallen radio. The static had stopped when the monster died for some strange reason. It seemed that the presence of the demon was the cause of the white noise, but the creature itself didn't seem to hear it at all. The brunette started adjusting the settings on the radio again when a faint signal started coming through the quiet static.

"Ma……I'm…er………t……tel! Mak……elp!" Trying to adjust the radio again for a clearer signal, the radio spurt and went to complete silence.

"What the…? I better keep it, just in case." Makoto decided and turned the volume up all the way so that she could hear it from her other jean pocket. Holding the wooden plank firmly in her hand, Makoto decided wield it for her protection until she could find another more suitable weapon.

With that, the brunette left the alcove and headed towards Rose Water Park, refusing to give up her search until Ami was found... dead or alive…

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. The Woodside Apartments

**Chapter Three: The Woodside Apartments**

The surreal and eerie calm overshadowing Silent Hill had quickly been dispersed by the pounding of Makoto's shoes on the pavement, the roaring static from the radio, and the clicking sound of the monsters drawn to Makoto's steps. Seeking refuge at once, Makoto burst through the door of Neely's Bar and barricaded the door with her body before the demons could overcome her. How could she have missed all the monsters in Silent Hill! There were hundreds!

The faded green shirt she was wearing heaved up and down with her breaths. If the bar window hadn't been covered with newspapers, Mako would've looked outside to see if the patient demons were still present. However, the fading of the radio's static signaled that they were receding back into the mist. The brunette released a deep sigh of relief and tried to calm her racing heart. Adrenaline had kicked in when Makoto realized just how many monsters were chasing her and was beginning to leave her system. Calmer now, she could take in her surroundings more efficiently.

The dusty bar smelled of stale liquor and small pieces of rubbish littered the gray tiled floor. Splintered pieces of wood were sticking up from the bar counter. A wooden door behind the counter led in to the back of the bar, not that this interested Makoto. It was also completely barren of furniture. Enough light passed through the newspaper covered windows to allow Makoto to examine the map. Taking out a red pen from her breast pocket, she scribbled a large X on the path she had just come from. Each of the main routes to Rosewater Park had roadblocks to hinder passage.

"The intersection to Nathan Ave. is blocked, too… There _has_ to be a way to get to Rosewater Park." The brunette griped irritably.

She had to fight off the hopeless sensation of never seeing her precious Ami again. The brunette knew all too well in her heart that she couldn't give up now otherwise she would be practically handing Mercury's princess over to the horrors of this town. Trying to plan her next move, the brunette leaned against the splintering bar counter and examined the dirty floor. Lifting her head slightly, a message written in bold black ink on the newspapers covering the windows came into view.

"A hole was once here but now it's gone…" She read aloud quietly. "Does it mean there was a hole in the window?" Shrugging off the meaning of the message, the brunette took up the map once more. The dim light illuminated the map again and there was one last possible route that Makoto had not yet explored. Behind the Woodside Apartments was an alleyway that opened up on to another main road, which in turn could lead her to Rosewater Park. Clutching the map firmly in her hand and the wooden plank in the other, Makoto exited the bar.

The brunette noticed on her way to the Woodside Apartments that if she moved quietly, the patient demons would not hear her. The top of the Woodside Apartment building was hidden in the mist but looked to be only three stories tall. The brick walls were faded with age and like other buildings in Silent Hill, the windows were boarded up heavily. A rusted lock connected the apartment's gate to the ten foot fence surrounding the perimeter.

Mako's temper was beginning to boil at yet another set-back. Makoto spat and kicked the locked fence in frustration, which rattled out of place a little before sliding back into its original position.

Placing the map back into a free pocket, Makoto threw the wooden plank over the fence to free her grasp and it clattered to the ground on the opposite side. Then she stepped back a few paces away from the fence, sprinted forward, forced her right tennis shoe into a gap in the wire fence, leaped up to grab the top of the fence, twisted and swung her body over, before landing on her feet with a dull thud.

There was just no time to search for a key or attempt to pick the lock.

Having picked up the wooden plank again, she pushed against the apartment door and it gave way easily into a dark lobby. Mailboxes on one wall were empty and missing in some places while a bulletin board on the opposite wall had a lop-sided map pinned to its surface unceremoniously. Taking the second map, Makoto squinted in the darkness but could barely make out the tiny print. The only thing she could tell was that this apartment building had three floors just like she had noticed outside. Folding the map into the same pocket as the map of Silent Hill, the brunette stepped towards the only door in the lobby which led out into the courtyard. It was locked and no matter how much she shook the handle of the door or tried to force it open with her shoulder, it wouldn't budge. Left of the door was a staircase leading to both levels above. The stairs were worn with many old footsteps and she could hear the wind whistling through a broken un-boarded up window on the third story.

Slipping inside the door on the second floor, Makoto noticed how several of the ceiling lights were out, leaving patches of darkness down the three separate corridors. Although with the few working lights that remained she could have read the map, but did not bother. It felt as if something was calling to her from the room down the right hallway labeled: 205. A bright light from within the small apartment's living room blinded Makoto's vision temporarily. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the unexpected light, but when it did she saw that it was coming from a flashlight clipped onto the clothes of a fashion dummy. The brunette's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the fashion dummy wearing what looked like Mercury's sailor fuku. One of her pale fingers traced along the white and blue satin material longingly.

'Is this some kind of sick joke…?' Makoto asked herself in disgust.

Her hands slid up and unclipped the flashlight from the sailor fuku's brooch. When it was fastened onto her breast pocket, the light fell onto the opposite wall and a mannequin demon sprang to life. One of the legs attached to where normal arms would be, struck Makoto in the jaw. The force of the impact sent her reeling backwards onto the floor and the demon loomed over her. The demon had a normal torso with no head and four legs. It bent lower for another blow but Makoto sweep kicked it onto its back and kicked it ruthlessly in the side until a pool of blood formed beneath the motionless mannequin.

"I won't let any monster get in the way of me rescuing Ami!" Makoto panted, as if the monster could still hear her.

Perhaps if Makoto had remained in the room longer and calmed herself down, she would've realized that even if a mannequin was brought to life, it shouldn't bleed…

Most of the other doors on the second floor had broken locks, preventing Makoto from entering. Of the remaining doors, few of them were of any interest anyway; simple one bedroom apartments with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Down the center hallway, there were metal poles barring the rest of the hallway like a jail cell. The last apartment before this barricade seemed normal enough, but when Makoto explored the bedroom she noticed a riddle inscribed on the wall opposite of a grandfather clock. The riddle seemed to suggest something happening when the clock's hands were positioned a certain way, but the glass casing was locked. If Makoto had been more certain about this riddle she would have simply broken the glass with her wooden plank but she felt uneasy about breaking someone's property… even if they no longer inhabited the apartment. After checking the rest of the apartment thoroughly for useful items and seeing nothing else of interest on the second floor, she returned to the stairwell and headed up to the third story.

To her immediate right at the top of the stairs, another set of bars blocked the rest of the corridor. Wondering about these bars and their purpose, curiously; the brunette almost did not notice the light from her flashlight glint off a small metallic object on the other side of the bars on the dirty tile floors. It was a key! The brunette crouched down onto her knees and reached through the bars toward the tiny key, enthusiastically. However, the key was just out of her reach…

The air around her seemed to cool a couple of degrees, making Makoto cease in her effort to reach the key. A foot came out of the darkness and stepped on the metallic object, making Makoto jerk her arm back instinctively. "Who's there!" She demanded.

"So you were called to this town also…" A quiet young female voice answered calmly with a question of her own. "Why are you here?"

"To find someone…" The brunette answered hesitantly, trying to see the face of her encounter but she could only see a vague outline of the person. The light from her flashlight seemed to almost pass _through_ the figure. 'What does she mean by I was called to this town..? Who else was _called_? Ami?'

"What if that person is better off not being found by you?" The person questioned mysteriously.

"What do you mean?" Makoto gritted her teeth, trying to hold back her temper. "Haven't you seen this town? How can someone be better off in this living hell?"

A tense silence stretched between them while they peered intently at each other, or in Makoto's case, attempted to peer. "You'll understand in time." The voice finally replied in a darkening tone while their foot pushed the key towards Makoto before walking away into the shadows of the corridor beyond.

"Wait! Come back!" The brunette ordered, wanting more answers to the figure's mysterious hidden meanings.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	4. The Red Pyramid

**Chapter Four: The Red Pyramid**

Makoto pulled the fire escape key closer to her and examined it before checking her map. Sure enough, there was a fire escape on the second floor that led outside to the alley she needed.

'Before I go, I might as well check out the rest of this floor, too.' Makoto thought and stood from her crouched position. There was only one open door on this side of the bars and it was apartment 301. The interior was poorly decorated and bullet holes covered the walls. 'Was somebody being attacked or did they just go nuts…?' Makoto wondered anxiously. 'In this town it's hard to tell…'

The only object in the room was a shopping cart sitting in the middle of the living room. Upon closer inspection, the brunette saw a M92F Beretta pistol inside the shopping cart. The safety was off and it was fully loaded with a clip holding ten bullets. Without a second thought, Makoto tucked it into her belt. 'Unless I find more bullets, I should only use this sparingly… ' She paused and looked over the hand gun again. 'I've never used a gun before… but how hard can it be?'

Shaking her head, Makoto forced herself to think about the monsters all around town. It wasn't like she was planning on shooting an actual person…

With her hopes beginning to return, she then revisited the second floor and was about to turn down the left hallway towards the fire escape when a muffled scream reached her ears. Makoto stiffened before breaking into a run down the dark center hallway where the scream had come from. 'It can't be…Ami!' Although she did not notice at the time, the radio crackled to life and hissed with white noise again. The brunette stopped short when a figure came into view behind the bars blocking the corridor. In the dim lighting Makoto could see a figure with congealed bloodstains on its skin and a crimson pyramid basin covering its head. Its arms were motionless by its sides and it made no move to attack her but even so, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

'It feels like… I'm looking into a mirror at a carnival with a distorted reflection… No… More like a mirror that reflects your soul…'

By this point, Makoto's hands were shaking and she couldn't peel her eyes away from the demon on the other side who was gazing intently at her, even though no eyes were visible. The brunette's right hand started reaching behind her blindly, trying to find the door knob to an apartment. When her hand finally found it, she turned it frantically and swung the door open to get inside. But still the creature did not move, just simply breathed noisily.

Once she was inside the apartment, Makoto leaned against the door and released the breath that she had been subconsciously holding.

'What was that thing! Is that creature behind everything in Silent Hill? And…' Makoto paused hesitantly. 'Why did it feel like I was looking at a mirror...?'

It took several minutes for Makoto to calm herself down to where she could take in her surroundings. This place was just too weird to try and figure out right now. That's when the brunette noticed an unsettling smell in the air of the apartment that she hadn't smelt earlier. After all, she had visited this apartment less than ten minutes ago. It was the one with the strange clock riddle.

Quietly stepping into the living room to find the source of the smell, she heard a faint static sound and stifled a scream. The TV in the room was on and blood was oozing down the screen. In front of the television was what seemed to be a monster slumped in a recliner. Blood was beginning to form a puddle at the monster's feet and Makoto dared not get any closer, she could already tell from this distance that it was very dead.

"My _God_… who could've--?" Makoto whispered and answered her own question before she had finished it. "That monster outside…"

'But… I thought this place was completely abandoned. Then again I _did_ see someone on the third floor but still… I didn't hear anyone come in hear and I was only gone for about ten minutes!' Makoto peeled her eyes away from the monster and reflexively covered her mouth, to keep herself from getting sick. The smell of the blood was beginning to become overpowering, but she needed to figure out what to do next before she left the room. 'I should just go…' However, that pyramid head thing was still on her mind. 'Why would it kill a monster?'

Summoning up her courage, Makoto stepped forward cautiously and let the light of her flashlight shine on the corpse in the recliner. What she saw made her quickly look away again and step back to the other side of the room, heart racing. 'Why is that thing wearing clothes like mine!' Pyramid Head flashed across her mind again. 'That thing is toying with me!' Makoto thought, enraged, 'How did it get from this room to across the bars in the hallway so fast? Wait… this was the room with the clock riddle, right?' Makoto left the living room and walked quietly into the bedroom. The clock had been pushed aside and there was now a hole connecting this room to apartment 209. 'So it went through here, huh..?'

Wall particles crunched under the soles of Makoto's tennis shoes as she squeezed through the narrow opening, scraping off loose fragments of plaster from the hole. The next room was ordinary enough. The interior of this room wasn't what interested Makoto, though. It was Pyramid Head out in the hallway. She gripped the handle of the M92F Beretta tightly and drew it out of her belt; double checking to make sure the safety was off. Then Makoto approached the door slowly and turned the door knob, heart pounding in her ears.

The hallway was empty. No Pyramid Head, just the bars blocking the hallway. On her right, though, there was another staircase and Makoto decided to go up to the third floor again. With the handgun drawn, the wooden plank was becoming very annoying to carry, but Makoto only had ten bullets in the handgun. She had to make every single one count.

The third floor was dark and much like the second floor. "Locked… locked," Makoto mumbled as she tried to turn the door knobs to the first two rooms on her left. Her pale hand reached out for the door knob of apartment 307 but paused. From the depths of her jean pocket, the radio came to life again, signaling the presence of a monster in the room. The brunette took a deep breath and adjusted her grip on the Beretta to keep her hands from shaking; then she opened the door swiftly. There were high pitched shrieks from two demons that were being brutally beaten by Pyramid Head in the apartment's kitchen. Makoto slipped silently into a nearby closet, peering out through the narrow openings in the closet door and having second thoughts about chasing after the red pyramid. 'Why is it hurting its own kind..?'

Pyramid Head grabbed the neck of one of the shrieking demons and squeezed tightly until there was a sickening crack. He loosened his grip and the monster fell to the floor, lifeless, with its neck bent at an awkward angle. The second demon was cornered in the cramped kitchen of the apartment, but struggled to get away nonetheless. Pyramid Head slammed this monster's head into the kitchen counter, cracking its head open with ease.

'How can that thing be so strong..?' Makoto trembled.

Blood dripped off the counter onto the floor and Pyramid Head grabbed the ankle of the monster's corpse, dragging it into the living room, leaving a trail of blood behind it. Makoto backed against the wall in the closet. There was nowhere to run and she would surely be killed if she tried to fight Pyramid Head head-on. He stopped, releasing the ankle of the demon he slaughtered. Then he raised one of his hands towards the closet. It was as if Pyramid Head was sniffing out Makoto. 'Please… No… I have to find Ami!'

Without thinking, Makoto raised the Beretta and fired one shot after the other. The bullets glanced off the metal surface of the basin covering Pyramid Head's head, jerking him backwards. Then Makoto fired in panic at the rest of Pyramid Head's exposed limbs. After ten shots, the Beretta snapped repeatedly, having no more ammo for Makoto to shoot. 'Oh God… please, no…'

Pyramid Head groaned and shuffled noisily to the door, leaving Makoto alone in the room, stunned and shaken.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
